According to the two countries’ agreement on delimitation of the Barents Sea, any border-crossing oil or gas discoveries should be exploited jointly by Norway and Russia.
“Because of the situation in Ukraine we should wait with drilling by the border, Chair of the Norwegian Parliament Stortinget’s Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment Ola Elvestuen says to Dagens Næringsliv. Evestuen represents the social liberal party Venstre.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has suggested several blocks in the area to be included in the 23rd Norwegian License Round. Discoveries in this area are expected to cross the state borders and can lead Norway into an awkward situation, according to Elvestuen:
«It is not clarified how potential discoveries should be divided between Russian and Norway. Besides, certain political communities in Russia are suspicious to Norway because they believe the delimitation agreement went in favor of Norway”.
According to Elvestuen there are no signs that the conflict between Ukraine and Russian will be over any time soon. He says that Russia’s actions on the Crimea violate international law and that Norway must be prepared for “enhanced sanctions against Russian authorities and – in worst case, for freezing of more bilateral connections.”
Elvestuen’s opinion is not shared by all members of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment. Nikolay Astrup of the conservative party Høyre and Per Rune Henriksen of the labour party Arbeiderpartiet believe that already announced license rounds should be carried through as planned.
